Changing my Profile name

Question

I am a new member with the ID Holliday-1480. I have always gone by my second name, my full name being Anthony John Holliday.  I signed up as John Holliday but I want the public to see my name as Anthony John Holliday. I have made the change to my profile but the "Profile (public view)" remains as John Holliday.  How can I change that?

Comments

We currently see your profile as John J Holiday.

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Just a note, if you roll your cursor over the WikiTree ID at the top right of your profile page, a menu of items opens.  About two-thirds of the way down is one called "Name Displays."  Open that and it shows you how your name should display in various views and pages on the site, while you are experimenting.

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You won't be able to get it the way you want it in all circumstances.  I tried making my Preferred Name Herb, which it is.  Except when WT wants to use my 'Long Name - Private,' when it shows as 'Herb L Tardy.'  It's not as rare as the Help page indicates.  I saw it within a day or two of making the change.  Sorry, WT, that's just stupid.  Middle initials go with full names, not with nicknames or diminutives.  I'd rather be 'Herbert,' even when not necessary, than ever to be 'Herb L.'  So my official Preferred Name is Herbert, but nobody calls me that except on the WikiTree.  And my estranged wife when she's angry, which is all the time.

Answer 1

We cannot see which names you have placed in which fields, but I suspect you need to put both names in the Proper first name field, possibly also in the Preferred name field - it's often best if those two are the same, unless you want to highlight a difference.

It's OK to experiment a bit and see how it displays.

Answer 2

The system will not allow you to use 2 names in the first name field. If you wish to use Anthony John you are going to have to use a hyphenated name in the Preferred Name field as in "Anthony-John" in order for the system to show your name in the way that you want. Leave the first and middle names as they are - after all that was your legal name at birth.

It is the PREFERRED NAME that shows what you want to be called.

Comments

Um, I believe the system does allow two names in the first name field although you will get a warning.  I believe you can then select "save anyway."

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True Jillaine, but I dont like getting that big banner warning in the first place!!!

And for everytime that profile gets updated that warning will show up - you have to click the "Save anyway" button - which is a very frustrating annoyance.

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I'm also going to guess that John is their middle name? I may have read the question wrong, but I don't know whether they're intending to be Anthony John in full or just Anthony in front of John.

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Some people are known by their middle name rather than their first name.

My father was one of those. He never used his first name of John, but he was always listed as J N and noone could ever find him in the phone book or any directory because he was never listed under his middle initial of N.

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I actually experience great glee when I click on "Save Anyway" as in "I know better than the system does..."

FYI, two-word first names are not the same as placing a middle name in the first name field with the first name.

Many pre-1900/pre-emigration Germans had two-word baptismal names, like my ancestor, Johann Heinrich Betz. Post emigration, he went by Heinrich, but his baptismal name was Johann Heinrich. Heinrich was not a middle name as we think of middle names today.